With Stars in His Eyes
by IcyConfidential
Summary: What changed in a year, and can it be fixed? Will they finally come together after all this time, or will they be yet again torn apart by a new threat that rises against their guild, their love, and their lives? Starts during Avatar arc. GrayLu fluff. I do not own FT (unfortunately) XD
1. Chapter 1: A Chilling Reunion

Hello! Please enjoy this GrayLu fic! BTW, it's a rewrite that starts during the Avatar Arc, so if you haven't read it yet, I suggest you do so that you're not totally lost!

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Chapter 1: A Chilling Reunion

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"I'll deal with this one myself." An familiar figure stepped into the room, the air immediately turning several degrees cooler.

"Yo. You been doing well?"

Lucy, Virgo and Happy looked back and forth between Ice and Fire as they started to throw punches and kicks at each other. Her mind raced as the Natsu and Gray fought in the background. She hadn't heard from anyone from the guild in a year. A whole year without her best friends and family. But here were three of them…

Lucy turned her attention towards Gray, still a little in disbelief that he was right in front of her. She had been worried sick about him after the war with Tartaros. First, his father died, then the trouble with his Ice Devil Slayer magic, causing frightening black marks to flare up on his body. He had left without a word to anybody, including her. That had hurt the most. But none of that mattered right now. She felt elated to see Gray again.

But…

Something was off. He was different. He still had a calm and cool aura, but there was a menacing twinge in the air around him. Lucy started becoming nervous, the old worry that they would destroy everything in the vicinity surfacing.

"Hey, stop it, both of you!" she shouted in vain.

"What the hell are you guys doing here?" Gray asked, sneaking a glimpse at Lucy.

"Right back at ya!" Natsu retorted.

"I do what I want."

"Juvia's waiting for you, bastard!" Natsu said as he threw a fire-coated punch.

Lucy inwardly cringed at the mention of the water mage's name. She hadn't been able to stop herself from feeling jealous when she had heard that Juvia and Gray had been living and training together. It hadn't caught her completely by surprise. She had expected Juvia to track Gray down. She didn't think that Gray would have allowed her to live with him. Still, she pushed aside her feelings in order to focus on her job at Sorcerer Weekly. She was snapped out of her thoughts by Natsu.

"I'm waiting for you. And we need you… to bring back Fairy Tail!"

Gray sighed. "This is stupid." A moment passed, then his head snapped up revealing a frightening expression. "FAIRY TAIL IS NO MORE!" he screamed in frustration. Mountains of ice exploded from his fingertips, matching the chaotic emotions within the mage that had created them.

Lucy stared in disbelief.

"That's what they all say… But all the memories… and bonds we shared are still there." Natsu exclaimed, fighting through the ice. "Fairy Tail's right here." He placed a closed fist over his heart. "Has been and always will be."

Lucy's face fell, fighting back tears. She was still sensitive whenever she was reminded of Fairy Tail being disbanded.

"Then your solution's right there isn't it?"

"Gray…" Happy had a sad look on his face that was seldom seen.

"If it's as you say, then you'd have no need for me, so leave me alone won't you? I will go my way, you go yours. Fairy Tail is no longer a part of me. So could you please drop the whole BFF act with me?" His eyes flashed with regret at what he had said, but in his mind he told himself it was for the best. However, none of his reasons mattered when he saw Lucy's pained expression.

Lucy couldn't hold back. She marched up to her best friend. They stood facing each other for a moment before she slapped him. The room went deadly silent. Gray's cold expression stared down at her without breaking.

"BFF act!? It wasn't an act! We're comrades 'till the end! Please don't say things like that!" She bit her lip, her eyes filling up with tears. "I… we… uhh"

She suddenly collapsed, startling Gray. He held back the instinct to rush to her aid. _For the mission… For the mission…_ He chanted to himself, a mantra to keep himself from breaking his cover. She stayed on the ground, racked in pain. Gray's heart ached at the sight of Lucy's agony, fighting the urge to pummel the one that had done this to her.

"WHAT DID YOU DO TO HER?!" Natsu struggled against the chains that suddenly held him. Gray shot him a withering look, hoping that Natsu would back off. But of course the dense fire-eating idiot didn't. "GRAY!"

"Ahhh…." Lucy moaned at the intense pain in her stomach. She felt like she was being stabbed continuously. She started sweating profusely. A real sword appeared next to her head.

"Don't move." A new adversary appeared. She looked over at Gray who seemed lost in his thoughts while his "teammates" continued to harass Natsu, Virgo, and Happy.

"O… owww." She curled up into a tight ball, trying to will the pain away. She heard the concerned cries of Virgo and Happy, and the dangerous growl of Natsu.

"This is what you get for sticking your nose in other people's business, Natsu."

"SNAP OUT OF IT GRAY! YOU'RE BEING POSSESSED BY A DEMON!"

"I'm perfectly sane." Gray replied calmly. "I destroyed that 'Family Link' of ours of my own accord. Now does that answer your question?" He smirked, shedding his shirt and revealing the rest of his chest. The Fairy Tail mark had been replaced by the Avatar emblem, while half of his body was covered by the black marks.

"He erased the guild's mark…?" Happy grimaced in confusion.

Lucy took a break from focusing on her pain to look at Gray. She couldn't believe it. She wouldn't believe it.

"Gray…" Natsu growled like he wanted to murder his best friend.

Lucy's vision started to fade as voices became blurred. The last thing she saw was Gray's worried face glancing down at her before she fell unconscious.

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And there you have the first chapter! Hope you enjoyed it! Feel free to give me suggestions or a review :)


	2. Chapter 2: Torture

Here's the second chapter! Enjoy! I'm also working on a Nalu one-shot btw, so I'll post that soon.

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Chapter 2: Torture

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 _Where am I? Where's Gray? Natsu? Happy?_

Lucy came to on a cold, hard ground with handcuffs around her wrists. She felt a warm bundle curled up next to her, and an extremely warm person cradling her head in their lap. She opened her eyes and immediately came face-to-face with a certain fire dragon slayer.

"Natsu!" She quickly started to sit up but instead bonked heads with her friend. "Ow…" She rubbed her forehead while Natsu burst out laughing.

"LUCY!" Happy barreled into her chest with more force than she thought possible for the small animal, almost knocking her backwards back onto the ground if Natsu hadn't been sitting behind her. Unfortunately, this caused her to end up laying on top of said dragon slayer.

"Heavy…" Natsu wheezed.

"Who are you calling heavy?!" Lucy shouted, making Natsu wince.

She rolled off him as well as she could while her hands were bound. Lucy turned back to Happy who was somehow still attached to her chest.

"Don't go flying into me so fast!" she screeched, but she immediately began soothing the exceed as soon as she saw his eyes start to tear up. The poor thing had a restraint around his entire torso. "I'm sorry for shouting at you…" Lucy sat down and hugged Happy as he bawled into her chest.

"I was so scared, Lushi! You fell down and wouldn't wake up and, and, and…" Happy, started blubbering. The celestial mage shushed him and attempted to rub his back, trying to get him to calm down.

"It's okay Happy, I'm right here!" Lucy turned and looked at the person next to her. "Natsu, what happened? All I remember is my stomach hurting, and then I collapsed and blacked out. And…" Her forehead crinkled while thinking. Lucy gasped. "And, Gray was there… And his guild mark… and he said…" Everything hit her all at once; she stared hyperventilating and tightened her hold on Happy.

 _Fairy Tail is no longer a part of me._ His words bounced around her brain, taunting her.

"Lucy! Look at me!" Natsu grabbed one of her arms, trying to extract Happy from her death hug so he wouldn't suffocate in her ample bosom. He finally deposited Happy next to him, then he turned back to Lucy who was having a panic attack. "Snap out of it Luce!" He cupped her face, forcing her to look into his onyx eyes. "Breathe!"

Lucy started taking short, shaky breaths, each one bringing a jolt of pain to her chest. The more she expanded her lungs, gasping for air, the more her heart hurt. Just as she started calming down, memories of Gray flashed through her mind.

 _I destroyed that 'Family Link' of ours of my own accord._

"Gray… maybe he's possessed or being controlled… why would he say those things…" Lucy clutched her chest and her doe-brown eyes glazed over, withdrawing into her mind while she started to panic yet again. Natsu was starting to seriously get worried. He held and cradled her, rocking her back and forth.

"It's okay, we'll get that ice freak back, I promise. Shh…" Natsu knew that Lucy had feelings for Gray, even if she didn't say it. In fact, Cana had secretly started taking bets for when (not if!) the two mages would get together. Of course, this was before the guild had broken up after the war with Tartaros (If you were wondering, Natsu had placed his bet on a year, given that he knew Lucy's embarrassment would get in the way. Everyone else had placed their bets on a couple months).

She finally came back to reality after a few minutes and started sobbing into Natsu's chest. How could Gray say those awful things! Lucy cried for several minutes, finally calming down while she hiccupped. Natsu let go of her and leaned against the wall only to stand up and sniff the air.

"Someone's coming." A strange man with large eyebrows and a bald head stopped in front of the cell. He bowed to no one in particular.

"He's bowing even though there's no one in front of him!"

"Creepy!"

"Where's Gray? Bring him here!" Natsu ran into the bars of their confines.

"Gray-dono, along with everyone else, isn't here anymore. They've all gone to prepare for the purification ritual… And I've come here to get some information from you, even if it means by force," the man stated.

"Purification ritual!?"

"The purification of the soul. And death is the only way of attaining it. And the smell of death will only bring Zeref closer to us," he continued.

"Don't involve Gray in strange things!" Lucy said.

"Mm? So you've noticed… That… That I've been cosplaying as Lord Zeref…"

"Huh!? Who cares!"

"My admiration for him is so strong that I got this done back in the East." He said, indicating the tattoo on his forehead. "I don't really know much about kanji but apparently it's read as Zeref."

"Uh… No? That's read as Matcha." The blonde sweat dropped.

"Sh-shut up, little girl!"

"KYA!" Lucy's was suddenly forced upwards as her chains attached themselves to the ceiling.

"That freak… he's controlling things in here!" Happy's eyebrows furrowed together.

"Let go of her!" Natsu growled.

Suddenly Natsu and Happy were thrown against the wall, their restraints holding them back.

"Just stay there and watch my torture show."

"Lucy!"

"I can't get this off…" Happy pounded on the cuff.

"That's because they're made of magic-sealing stone." The man chuckled as he entered the cell.

A wooden table appeared in front of Lucy. Numerous tools of torture were on the table, prepared for use. Lucy gulped, her body starting to sweat with fear.

"Observe these delicious torturous items. What should I do to you first? There's whipping…" He cracked the whip. "Candle wax dripping…" Lucy shivered. "Bondage… Feet licking… Which shall it be?"

"Pervert, much!? And quit bowing at the air! It's creepy!" Lucy shrieked as the man turned and bowed yet again to no one in particular.

"Alright, we'll start with the licking! It hurts the least!"

"No way! That sounds so gross…"

"I see you don't seem to understand why it's classified as torture. We start with dipping the soles of the feet in salt water, then I will release a goat. The goat, in search of salt, will begin licking your feet. Eventually, the barbs on the tongue of the goat will tear through the skin and to the meat. Even then the goat won't stop and will keep going." The man chuckled darkly.

"That actually sounds like it'd hurt a lot." Natsu and Happy had shocked looks on their faces.

"Shall we try it out?" the man said as he removed Lucy's stockings.

"NOOOOOOOOOOO!" Lucy screamed.

"YOU BASTARD!" Natsu yelled.

"So tell me, who sent you here?" Lucy's torturer said, while he gagged and roped the blonde. "Before the feet of this girl are no more."

"I told you! We're to take Gray back!" Natsu continued yelling.

"Mmf! Mmmff!" The goat approached Lucy's feet as she struggled against the rope binding her.

"How many times must I say this?! Gray-dono is now our comrade."

"No, he's our nakama. And if he doesn't believe in himself… then we will!" Natsu said. There was a quiet moment as the tension in the room grew.

"Silence!" The rope and goat disappeared, and instead Lucy's body was pulled taut with chains, lifting her off the ground.

"Mmf!"

"LUCY! What are you going to do to her?!"

"NO MORE LICKING-THE-SOLES-OF-YOUR-FEET TORTURE! IT'S TIME FOR CHOP-YOU-IN-HALF TORTURE!" The man screamed as he brandished an axe above his head.

"STOPPP!" Natsu's veins bulged as he struggled against his captivity.

"Let's see if you still believe in Gray-dono!?" The axe came swinging down. Lucy squeezed her eyes shut, waiting for the metal to sever her in half…

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Hehehe... Cliffhanger! What is this mysterious group that Gray is a part of anyways? You'll find out in the next chapter... :D


	3. Chapter 3: Together Again

Finally, here's the next chapter! Gomen! I've been travelling a lot lately so, not a lot of time for writing... Enjoy :3

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Chapter 3: Together Again

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Death never came.

Cold air directly above her drifted towards the floor, making Lucy shiver. An eye cracked open to see the axe just millimeters from her torso. She squeezed her eyes shut again. She didn't bother reopening them when her skin became covered in goose bumps. The celestial mage's body suddenly went slack, and she braced herself for the impact of the floor. Instead she felt cool, comforting arms hold her. Lucy's cheeks flushed when gentle fingers removed the gag from her mouth. She finally opened her eyes.

A man with inky-black hair and midnight blue eyes stared down at her with affection. A light smirk was placed on his lips. The black marking that had previously adorned his face were receding, and the menacing aura around him was gone. He was finally here.

"Gray!" Lucy threw her arms around his neck as he continued to hold her bridal-style. Tears rolled down her face. She sniffled in the crook of his neck and shoulder.

"Hey Princess," the devil slayer murmured back. He set her on the ground, moving his hands to caress her face, his thumbs brushing away her tears. He inhaled the familiar smell of vanilla and strawberries. Her golden hair caressed his fingertips, longer than it had been the last time he saw her. Their foreheads touched, relishing in the feeling of being in each other's arms. Her honey-brown eyes met his dark ones. _No words needed to be spoken._

And then the moment was broken. Of course.

"They llliiikkkeee each other!" Happy's teasing kicked the two mages out of Dreamland, and into the cold reality of the prison cell. Where two people were rudely gawking at the *maybe* couple.

"Come back here, you stupid cat!" Lucy's mood drastically swung as she started chasing the blue flying cat. Gray chuckled, happy to be with his friends. Natsu, looked dumbfounded, staring at his rival/best friend, then at Lucy and back again.

While Natsu continued staring and Lucy attempted to murder Happy, Gray took out a mini lacrima. His voice bounced off the walls of the cell a few minutes later.

"This is a Code Blue; we have trouble. No… That's not it… Yeah… I don't know, you talk to him… … Yeah."

By this time, Lucy had stopped chasing Happy, and Natsu had stopped looking like an idiot. They listened intently, confused by the turn of events.

Gray tossed the phone to Natsu.

"Put that to your ear."

"What the hell's this?"

An all-too familiar voice pierced the dragon slayer's hearing.

"Is that you Natsu?"

The fire mage started sweating, the voice on the other end instantly reducing him to a shaking mess. Lucy and Happy looked at each other questioningly, both wondering if the person on the other side was who they thought it was.

"My, my. Now what have you done to Gray's undercover mission?" Erza reprimanded.

.

.

.

"E-Erza? Undercover mission?" Natsu dumbly repeated what he had just heard in the ice mage's direction.

Lucy and Happy looked at Gray in shock.

"Correct," said Gray. "There's no way I'd join some creepy guild like this anyway. We don't have time now, so we'll talk while we move."

The group of friends quickly got a hold of some creatures to transport them to their destination. Gray led the way, with his friends blindly following.

" _I found out about Avatar and how it was connected to Zeref about half a year back… With some help from Jellal, of course."_ Ezra's voice began to explain the situation to the travellers. _"But we hit a dead end and it was then that I met Gray."_

Gray took over the explanation. "I began getting these weird marks on me so I've been going over to old lady Porlyusica's place. Obviously, I've learnt to control them."

Lucy let out a sigh of relief.

" _We talked about how we were, then we came up with this plan."_

"I guess you could call it a request from Erza. After all, I was interested in destroying the Book of E.N.D. since it was my old man's last request."

"But seriously, you didn't even tell Juvia about this? You were living with her after all!" Natsu interjected. "Jeez, way to be a jerk, ice princess."

"…"

" _I told him not to. It's always better to have less people know about the mission, as it raises the rate of success. And one could never tell. What if she had gotten in trouble over it?"_

Lucy continued to stay silent, not particularly wanting to join the conversation. After all, they were talking about Gray and Juvia living together, for god's sakes. Why was SHE living with him? 'Oh my god, I am NOT going to become jealous right now.'

" _We didn't think the mission would take very long, but then the situation changed. It was supposed to be a scouting mission at first, but then came the whole purification ritual mess. Avatar is planning on wiping out an entire town to lure Zeref because they seem to think that he appears where Death is abundant. We must stop that from happening."_

"Well, all you've got to do is crush them! Easy! If it were Gray and Erza, there wouldn't be a problem!" Natsu responded.

"No, we can't. Avatar isn't an organization small enough for us to just 'crush' it. It's size alone is more than we've ever imagined." Gray explained. "I've only infiltrated one small part of it. I still haven't gotten anything on the main branch's location, or even the other branches."

" _And if we make any careless moves, we could lose the chance to stop the whole ritual. That's why we've been waiting till now."_ Erza added.

"Yeah, for the day when all the branches get together so we can destroy them once and for all."

Gray's scary expression and fierce tone of voice made shivers run up Lucy's back. The expression melted away as he turned to face her.

"Lucy… I'm sorry about what I said just now. I had to in front of them."

"Oh no, I'm sorry for hitting you." The blonde smiled graciously.

Gray couldn't help but smirk and chuckle.

"Well… Having a maid hit me though… hahah… I mean, you are pretty hot…" Lucy sputtered.

"Uh… That's…not…WHAT!?" Lucy started fuming. "As soon as we get to wherever the fuck we're going; I'm going to kick your ass!"

"Heh, if you say so, though I wouldn't mind it if you're dressed like that..." Gray teased, openly staring at Lucy's revealing maid outfit.

"I swear to god; you're asking for it."

"Luuuucyyyy and Graaaaayyyy, sittin' in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G," Natsu laughed.

"I'M GOING TO KICK YOUR STUPID ASS TOO, DRAGON SLAYER!"

"AAAAHHH! SCARY LUCY!"

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I don't have much to say, other than: till the next chapter y'all! :))


	4. Author's Note: Important Notice

Hey guys!

So, first, you'll notice that I haven't updated in a while. I have relatives all over the place so my summers can be quite hectic. However, I'll probably start a regular update schedule as soon as school starts (which is next week)

Second, I've decided to discontinue _With Stars in his Eyes_. I read through it again, and it didn't really feel like I was the one who was writing, you know? I was going through the manga and putting it in story form (with GrayLu of course), so that's why the chapters sounded rushed, and I don't think it turned out as well as I had hoped. However, I won't delete it, just in case.

Third, if you would like to adopt _With Stars in his Eyes_ , PM me! I'll definitely consider it.

Anyways, I finally figured out how I want to write Gray and Lucy my way, so I've started writing a new fanfic! If you want more GrayLu, then head on over to my new story which I will post soon (I'm still trying to think of a title)!

And hugs to everyone that followed, favorited, and reviewed _With Stars in his Eyes!_ :))

Xoxo

 _IcyConfidential_


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